Sports Extra

MADRID – Spanish golfer Miguel Angel Jimenez broke his right shinbone and will be sidelined for up to five months.

Jimenez said in a statement Sunday that he had surgery on his leg after injuring it while skiing Saturday.

Jimenez said, “I was playing well, but you have to take life as it comes.”

Jimenez was a vice captain on Europe’s Ryder Cup-winning team in September.

In November, the 48-year-old Jimenez became the oldest European Tour winner by capturing his third Hong Kong Open title. He has 19 career European Tour titles.

nhl

League, players association to resume talks today

NEW YORK – The NHL and the players’ association are ready to get back to the bargaining table.

There were no formal negotiations Sunday, but all signs pointed to talks on Monday in an effort to end the lockout and save the season.

“There will be no further face-to-face meetings today,” the union said in a statement Sunday. “The plan is for the sides to meet (Monday).” Those would be the first negotiations since the sides met with a federal mediator Dec. 13.

The league and the union had informational discussions – by conference call and in meetings – with staff members that lasted much of Saturday and concluded Sunday. Those talks were spurred by the nearly 300-page contract proposal the NHL presented to the union Thursday.

All games through Jan. 14 have been canceled, claiming more than 50 percent of the original schedule. The NHL wants to reach a deal by Jan. 11 and open the season Jan. 19, with a 48-game schedule.

Bargaining sessions with only the NHL and union haven’t been held since Dec. 6, when talks abruptly ended after the players’ association made a counterproposal to the league’s previous offer.

hockey

U.S. juniors face elimination today in world tournament

UFA, Russia – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Ryan Strome scored in the first period, and Canada beat the United States 2-1 to advance to the next round at the junior ice hockey world championships.

Jacob Trouba scored for the U.S.

The Americans need to beat Slovakia today in Group B to move on.

Canada will face Russia on Monday to determine which team gets a bye into the semifinals.

The 19-year-old Nugent-Hopkins was the first pick of the 2011 NHL draft by Edmonton. The center had 52 points in 62 games for the Oilers last season.

In Group A, Finland beat Switzerland 5-4 on a shootout goal by Markus Granlund, who also scored twice in regulation. The Czech Republic defeated Latvia 4-2.

tennis

Serena opens new season just like she ended last one

BRISBANE, Australia – Serena Williams joked that since the calendar still read 2012, she needed to maintain this year’s dominant form.

The 15-time Grand Slam champion opened her 2013 season Sunday, and Williams needed less than an hour to beat fellow American Varvara Lepchenko 6-2, 6-1 in the first round of the Brisbane International.

Williams won 31 of her last 32 matches during the 2012 season, including titles at Wimbledon, the Olympics, the U.S. Open and the WTA Championships. She was 58-4 overall.

The third-ranked Williams didn’t show any signs of the minor surgery on her big toes that forced her to withdraw from an exhibition in Thailand. She moved freely throughout the match against the 21st-ranked Lepchenko.